People sometimes ask if Vietnam and Japan are part of areme’s story. I usually hesitate when that comes up, because it doesn’t feel like a story we decided to tell. It feels more like the ground we’ve been standing on for a long time.
When Vietnam is mentioned, it’s often assumed to be about cost or efficiency.
But Vietnam was never a cheap sourcing destination for us. Being there means staying close to the land: watching plants respond to heat, rain, and soil in ways no spreadsheet can predict. It means working with farmers who think in seasons rather than schedules, and learning early on that nature doesn’t move faster just because we ask it to.
Spending time in that environment changes how you think about materials. You stop asking how much you can take, and start asking how much is enough. Value begins to mean proximity, not price.
Japan wasn’t chosen to make things look refined or a short cut to a luxury label. Living and working here along with the Japanese quietly teaches us restraint: how to simplify, how to remove what isn’t needed, and how to take responsibility for what you make and release into the world. Things are not meant to stand out; they are meant to sit naturally within everyday life.
At the core of this way of thinking is monozukuri seishin — making things with care, sincerity, and accountability. It’s not about perfection or tradition as an idea. It’s about attention. To materials, to process, and to the long-term impact of small decisions.
areme exists somewhere between these two places, moving back and forth as part of real life, not strategy.
Vietnam–Japan isn’t something we explain after the fact. It’s simply where we are, and how we continue to make things - with care, with attention, and with respect for both nature and the quiet beauty already present in it.
